Asia Policy Research Articles

Emerging Dynamics in Malaysia-Japan Relations under the Second Mahathir Administration

Japan and Malaysia established relations in 1957, the year Malaysia obtained independence from the British. Malaysia has largely benefited through many Japanese assistance programs, and in return, the country has remained one of Japan’s closest friends in Southeast Asia. During his first premiership, Mahathir introduced the Look East Policy (LEP) as a major foreign policy re-direction, moving away from the Western approach adopted by his predecessors. Nevertheless, bilateral relations plateaued during the reign of the two successive prime ministers Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak primarily as a result of the changing regional geopolitical landscape. Malaysia moved closer towards an emerging China. However, the May 2018 general election paved the way for Mahathir to resume control of the country for the second time after a lapse of 15 years. Within less than a year, Japan started to bounce back in Malaysia’s political and strategic sensors. Japan is set to play a greater role in the Malaysian economic landscape, especially with its assistance of low-interest samurai bonds to aid the debt-stricken new Malaysian government. For Japan, this rekindling of old friendship could not have been more timely and may translate into greater support to Japan’s initiatives for regional peace and for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. This paper examines the evolving trends in bilateral relations between Japan and Malaysia in the second Mahathir administration. More specifically, it explicates the external and domestic sources which have affected and recalibrated Malaysia’s Japan policy in the context of a shifting regional strategic milieu as well as an evolving post-election domestic political landscape. This paper contends that the emerging dynamics and trajectories in Malaysia’s relations with Japan under the nascent “Mahathirism 2.0” period have been primarily shaped by the country’s ruling elite’s perceptions of her external conditions in the context of East Asia’s changing power dynamics, tempered by their domestic political considerations and leadership traits/idiosyncrasies. It further argues that despite the newly-minted Pakatan Harapan (PH) government’s visible foreign policy adjustments indicating a possible shift of emphasis from China towards Japan, such recalibrations are yet to alter the fundamentals of Malaysia’s Northeast Asia policy generally and its Japan policy specifically, an area in which the effects of structural conditions (proximity, power asymmetry, rivalries and uncertainties) continue to be informed by the Malaysian ruling elite’s domestic political considerations as they strive as much to optimize the country’s external interests as to consolidate their domestic legitimation.

India-Kazakhstan energy relations: Looking back and looking ahead

India and Kazakhstan share deep-rooted historical relations since millennia. The spread of Buddhism to Central Asia from India and Islam to India through Babur – the founder of the Mughal dynasty – vividly reflects at least 2500 years old cultural and civilizational ties with both the regions, yet India has been perceived in Kazakhstan as a latecomer and disinterested power. While many attribute New Delhi’s lack of political willpower and economic muscle as reasons for its consistent failure in the energy sector of Kazakhstan since 1990s, this article after thorough examination holds New Delhi’s diffident policy accountable for this. Although, at the beginning of the 21st century, the UPA government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh had tried to come out of that slumber through the initiation of ‘Connect Central Asia Policy’ yet a lack of concerted effort has derailed the renewed process. However, with Modi in New Delhi as the Prime Minister of India has shown keen interests and passionate desire to tie up with the region through commercial and strategic opportunities especially with Kazakhstan in energy sector yet both the countries need a massive overhaul in their relationship to transform the short-sighted association into a broad-based strategic engagement focussing on energy cooperation. This article uncovers the irritants, misplaced imaginations and wrong assumptions that deny India a foothold in the energy hub of Kazakhstan. It therefore argues for a paradigm shift in India’s Central Asia policy which New Delhi so far has been ignoring and strongly urges India to take Russia on board while dealing with Kazakhstan.

Aid imperium: United States foreign policy and human rights in post-Cold War southeast Asia

Aid imperium: United States foreign policy and human rights in post-Cold War southeast Asia

Devising gender-responsive transport policies in South Asia

ABSTRACT Over time, the transport sector has grown more cognisant of gender differences in planning and policy. Yet, extant literature on transport shows that challenges, such as sexual harassment of women still prevail. The value of this study is its contribution towards gender-responsive transport policies with a focus on women by highlighting (1) the spectrum of barriers that prevent women’s mobility across origin to destination journeys; and (2) construction of safety by using interventions and tools available to them, namely technology, women-only solutions, and infrastructural design. The findings are based on data from in-depth interviews with women participants in two Indian cities – Delhi and Kolkata. Drawing from our research, key policy suggestions include framing interventions in a rights-based manner, institutionalising gender-disaggregated data to inform interventions, and sensitising institutions such as the law enforcement on gender equity and women’s rights to the city. This research would be especially beneficial for regions in and beyond South Asia sharing similar contexts.

The EU’s Central Asia policy: no chance for change?

ABSTRACT One of the distinguishing characteristics of the European Union’s (EU) policy in Central Asia has been its continuity. Although the EU has recently revised its strategy for the region, Brussels’ priorities saw little change both thematically and in terms of approach. This article argues that two mutually reinforcing factors help explain the continuity of the EU’s Central Asia policy. First, the sui generis nature of the EU means the decision-making system is both complex and decentralized. The multitude of veto actors serves to make the status quo more realistic. Furthermore, the EU leadership is immune from the incentives and pressures of domestic political competition, an essential factor in the foreign policymaking of national leaders. The compounding factor is Central Asia’s peripherality for Brussels. The region is distant geographically and marginal economically. As a result, continuing existing approaches and commitments remains the least costly and most feasible policy option.

Towards critical translanguaging: a review of literature on English as a medium of instruction in South Asia’s school education

ABSTRACT English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has recently dominated language-in-education policies in South Asia while bilingual/multilingual practices have historically been the norm in primary and secondary education. Although the research on translanguaging is rapidly undertaken in English-only spaces in other world regions (e.g. North America), such studies are rare in South Asia. To this end, this conceptual article focuses on EMI research and policies in South Asia and discusses how the use of multiple languages or translanguaging is practiced in EMI classrooms, what kinds of scholarly judgments are given to such translingual practices, and what ideological limitations exist in translanguaging practices. We show that translanguaging practices are traditional norms in South Asian EMI classrooms but not necessarily a planned pedagogic approach. It is, rather, a spontaneous practice used as a ‘coping strategy’ of English language domination. We also discuss how seeing elite bilingualism (English plus a national dominant language) as translanguaging can be a liberal approach perpetuating unequal language hierarchies in education. Therefore, we argue that ‘critical translanguaging’ should resist nationalist and neoliberal ideologies that position languages and their users unequally, and instead protect the language, culture, and identity of those who have historically received marginalization.

Author's Response: Covid-19, Great-Power Competition, and the Future of China's Approach to the Protection of Its Interests Overseas

Author's Response:Covid-19, Great-Power Competition, and the Future of China's Approach to the Protection of Its Interests Overseas Andrea Ghiselli (bio) It is difficult to find anything more rewarding for a scholar than to have leading experts in the field thoughtfully engage with their work. Thus, I am extremely thankful to the four reviewers for taking the time to do this with my book, Protecting China's Interests Overseas: Securitization and Foreign Policy. I must also thank Asia Policy for providing a venue for such a discussion to take place. The four reviewers are well-known experts in Chinese foreign policy, each focusing on different issues. As such, I am happy that they all concur with the argument presented in my book and found it of interest. At the same time, they all touch upon similar issues in their comments, despite the different angles from which they discuss the book. In particular, they emphasize how I barely refer to the role of China's relations with other countries in the analysis. They also point out that I discuss the possible evolution of China's approach to the protection of its interests overseas, as well as implications for other actors in the international system, solely at the end of the book. To a large extent, these were deliberate choices that I made for two reasons. The first, as Jonathan Fulton notes in his comments, was a focus on approaching the study of China's strategy to protect its interests overseas through the lens of foreign policy analysis rather than international relations. This approach means that I referred to other countries only to the extent that the Chinese authors I consulted as sources did so. The second is that I have always found making predictions a difficult endeavor. The critical role of contingency in the origin and evolution of China's strategy to protect its interests overseas convinced me of that even more. After all, I doubt that this book would have been written without the Libyan crisis in 2011. Against this backdrop, I am thankful to the reviewers for pushing me to elaborate more on the findings and implications of the analysis presented [End Page 171] in my book, though I fear that addressing those issues has become even more difficult today. One of the key factors that made China consider protection of its overseas interests was the steady expansion of its economic and human footprint abroad over the past decades. This trend may change, however, especially regarding the large presence of Chinese nationals abroad. According to the latest data released by the Chinese government, the number of Chinese infrastructure workers overseas declined from about 800,000 in 2019 to less than 500,000 at the end of 2020, likely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.1 Of these workers, 163,000 were located in the Middle East and North Africa, about 100,000 less than in 2019. This is the biggest drop in the number of Chinese infrastructure workers abroad ever recorded both in those regions and at the global level. Notably, this figure does not include other categories of Chinese citizens overseas, such as entrepreneurs and students. Moreover, given that the number of workers in the Middle East and North Africa recovered quickly after the 2010–11 Arab Spring, a similar resurgence could happen again after the pandemic, but it should not be taken for granted. Chinese policymakers and scholars have also long known that foreign governments want Chinese projects to contribute to local employment and economic growth. As China's economic engagement with other countries continues to adapt, this pressure could lead to the reduction of China's human footprint overseas, especially in the developing world. At the same time, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has caught up 6,000 Chinese nationals, makes the future even more uncertain.2 Over the past decade, China managed to successfully evacuate thousands of people from countries such as Yemen, Iraq, and Ethiopia due to better preparation at the embassy level, improved cooperation with local governments, and—in Yemen—the option to use the military. Although Chinese nationals have continued to be victims of attacks amid conflict...

바이든 행정부 출범과 한미관계와 북미관계의 탈동조화

The purpose of this study is to examine East Asia s security under the Biden administration in the context of the US-China strategic competition. As the Biden administration increases the level of pressure on China in its early term in office, the ROK-US cooperation has intensified and the stalemate in US-DPRK relations continues. This study argues that the Biden administration prioritizes strategic competition with China in its Northeast Asia policy and seeks to systematically deal with the Korean Peninsula issues within the framework of the regional policy. The goal of the Biden administration’s foreign policy is to restore US global leadership and it has been working hard to enhance cooperation with its key allies and partners to check the rise of China and maintain American leadership in the Indo-Pacific region, where America s core interests in the 21st century exist. As the Biden administration puts its priority on checking the rise of China through cooperation with its regional allies and partners, its relations with South Korea, a key regional ally, have been strengthened in its early term in office while its relations with North Korea have not shown meaningful progress.

CULTURAL AND HUMANITARIAN IMPACT OF FRANCE ON CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES AS "SOFT POWER"

France participates in Central Asia in various fields, and its involvement began in the early 1990s. In 2018, Emmanuel Macron expressed interest in participating in the Chinese ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, which will increase France's activity in Central Asia. This region is considered as an important element of participation in a strategic and economically promising project. This article examines French policy in Central Asia and the cultural and humanitarian influence prospects, as well as the current state and future possibilities of bilateral relations with five countries in the region. It is noted that the French experience of preserving and increasing political influence with the help of soft power can be useful in the Central Asian countries foreign policy.

Asia/Europe Inter-university Cooperation in Higher Education: The case of Tuning Central Asian Higher Education Area (TuCAHEA)

The purpose of the current paper is to share the preliminary findings of the working doctoral dissertation titled “Asia/Europe inter-university cooperation in higher education: The case of Tuning Central Asian Higher Education Area (TuCAHEA)". The dissertation is a qualitative case study of an EU-funded consortium of European and Central Asian universities, aimed at building Central Asia Higher Education Area. Preliminary findings suggest that the Tuning initiative helps to promote a competency-based approach as an international norm in higher education policy through the dissemination of causal beliefs. As an epistemic community, the Tuning initiative contributes to the European norm diffusion outside the Bologna process. Tuning helps to re-construct European discourse in higher education policy in Central Asia. Furthermore, the initiative promotes the Tuning framework as a policy instrument of regional harmonization of higher education programs. The study contributes to the understanding of the normative power of the European Union and international higher education policy diffusion in the Central Asian context.

Development of social work in prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and HCV in Central Asia

PurposeThis study aims to report on the findings of a pilot study of the prevalence and treatment of infectious diseases among people who inject drugs in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.Design/methodology/approachThis study reports on study results based on two data collection methods: quantitative surveys and complimentary qualitative interviews.FindingsThe findings show that the role of social work in the region is crucial for establishing trust between non-governmental and civil society organizations and the state as exemplified by so-called “trust points” and “friendly cabinets.”Originality/valueFirstly, this study provides an overview of injecting drug use and the prevalence statistics on infectious diseases. Following this, this study focuses on the treatment and prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS and HCV. Both areas are under-researched and address the gap in the literature on drug policy in Central Asia.

The Evolution of Turkey’s ‘South Asia Policy’: Continuities and Ruptures in Outlook, Roles, Actors and Constraints

Turkey’s South Asia policy remains an underexplored area of research in Turkish foreign policy literature despite a rich history of Turkish activism in the region. While bringing to surface Turkey’s perception of South Asia, this article utilises insights from foreign policy analysis literature to make sense of international and domestic drivers behind Turkey’s South Asia policies during and after the Cold War. Using primary resources drawn from Turkish, American, Indian and Australian archives, memoirs by retired Turkish generals and diplomats, and interviews the author conducted with retired Turkish diplomats serving previously as ambassadors to New Delhi and Islamabad, the article argues that Turkey has felt most motivated to be involved in the region when encouraged by and had the ability to coordinate its policies with its western partners. I highlight Turkey’s mediation missions in inter- and intra-state disputes in the region, attempts to shift its South Asia policy and discuss Turkey’s approach to various hot conflicts within and between states in the region. I finally provide the place of South Asia in Turkey’s recent ‘Asia Anew Initiative’ and seek to explain an actor-based evolution of Turkey’s South Asia policy under the AKP governments over the last two decades.

Analyzing energy trade policy in Central Asia using the intercountry trade force approach

The main purpose of this study is to examine the energy trade pattern of Central Asian economies, which are regarded as significantly rich in natural resources. To this end, the generalized method of moments (GMM) based on the intercountry trade force approach, and data from 2001–2018 are employed. The empirical results confirm the significant impacts of the gravity index, free space of trade, and urbanization level in shaping Central Asia’s energy trade patterns. Our main conclusion is that variables have different impacts on the trade directions of imports and exports. In addition, geographical location and language factors are crucial for shaping the energy trade policies of Central Asia. The study’s main economic policy implication is in fostering the free flow of energy to achieve better economic integration in Central Asia. In addition, to promote the energy infrastructure of the region, cooperation and participation of the countries in regional projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China is recommended.

Community Radio Policies in South Asia: A Deliberative Policy Ecology Approach, Preeti Raghunath (2020)

Review of: Community Radio Policies in South Asia: A Deliberative Policy Ecology Approach, Preeti Raghunath (2020) Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 370 pp., ISBN 978-9-81155-628-9, h/bk, €109.99

(Re)Iterations, transgressions, recognition: Politics and practices of media policies in South Asia

(Re)Iterations, transgressions, recognition: Politics and practices of media policies in South Asia

A Déjà Vu All over Again? Identifying and Explaining ‘Change’ in Turkey’s Asia Policy

ABSTRACT Notwithstanding great number of studies addressing Turkey’s foreign policy after the Cold War, Turkey’s engagements in South, Southeast, and East Asia have remained submerged in narratives of Turkey’s relations with the Middle East, European Union, Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. This article addresses foreign policy changes in Turkish’s Asia relations by identifying five time periods since the foundation of the Republic: 1923–1950, 1950–1960s, 1970s to 1993, 1993–2000s, and 2010s-today by utilizing Hermann’s four levels of change in foreign policy, namely ‘adjustment, programme, problem/goal, and international orientation’. It explains these changes with reference to individual dynamics (decision makers) and domestic (institutional setting) and international factors (global structural shifts). It uses qualitative methodology and treats evolution of Turkey’s Asia policies as a case of ‘foreign policy change’. It relies on data collected from Turkish, Indian, Australian, and American archives, many of which has hitherto remained untapped, and memoirs written by Turkey’s retired diplomats and generals.

Modelling low carbon electricity generation of an integrated ASEAN power grid

In 1997, 10 economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), a cross-border interconnection network that effectively uses regional energy resources. This study aims to quantify the effect of ASEAN power grid interconnection on electricity exports-imports between south-east Asia economies and its implications for renewable energy shares and carbon emission in power generation. Three scenarios are assessed in this model. The Base Scenario simulates APG parameters in 2030, considering four existing interconnections and those interconnection projects currently under construction. The second scenario, HAPUA Scenario, includes all the future interconnection projects outlined in the HAPUA report. The carbon tax scenario as the last scenario, aims to evaluate whether carbon pricing policies in Southeast Asia may incentivise cleaner energy and renewable energy development in the region. Under the HAPUA Scenario, Indonesia increases coal and/or gas-fired generation for electricity exports, contributing to a slight increase in CO2 emissions from power generation for the ASEAN region. It appears that carbon price affects the choice of electricity generation and incentivise cross-border electricity trade. Under the carbon tax scenario, emissions will decline to 719 MtCO2 or 22% lower than the base scenario and 24% than the HAPUA scenario.

India’s look North Policy to Connect Central Asia Policy: A Pragmatic Policy of Indian Foreign Policy

Look North Policy is the important policy of the India’s foreign policies. It was initiated by P.V. Narasimha Rao government and then it will be continuing by successor governments and it is still ongoing. India’s abroad first air base, Ayni Air base at Tajikistan, becoming the full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, becomes the part of Chabahar port in Iran, beginning of Mumbai-Moscow Corridor etc. all are the part of the India’s Look North Policy. India is considered one of the emerging major powers of the world. This emerging is accredited to several indicators, the primary ones being its demographic trends and a rapidly expanding economy and military. But India also needs to continue its growing status and becomes an influential actor on the international stage when compared to the United States, China, United Kingdom, France and Russia. Look North Policy to Connect Central Asia Policy may become helpful tool for India to become a major global power.

Policies to combat nitrogen pollution in South Asia: gaps and opportunities

Assessing and managing nitrogen sustainably is imperative for achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targeted for 2030. South Asian countries, aware of the environmental and health impacts of nitrogen pollution, regionally as well as globally, piloted the 2019 UN resolution on sustainable nitrogen management, calling for urgent policy action. This paper assists South Asia policy development by providing new insights into nitrogen-related policies in the region; it makes a step-change advance on an existing global analysis and database. We built on available methods to better identify, classify and analyse 966 nitrogen-related policies for the region. We compared the global and regional nitrogen policy landscapes to explain the benefits of a deeper policy assessment. The policies we classified as having ‘higher’ relevance—those with direct reference to nitrogen and/or its potential impacts—represent the current nitrogen policy landscape for South Asia. We show that a small proportion of policies (9%) consider multiple pollution sources, sectors, nitrogen threats and impacts, with integrative policy instruments. A 5% of policies also consider both non-point and point sources of pollution, representing standout policies. More such policies with an integrated approach are vital in addressing the complexities of nitrogen pollution. Adapting existing and drafting new policies are both required to deal with other current and emerging nitrogen issues. Our analysis provides evidence for a roadmap for sustainable nitrogen policy in South Asia and beyond and supports efforts to reduce the threats posed by nitrogen pollution to achieve the SDGs.

Korea’s Regional Cooperation and ODA Policy in Asia: Performance and Challenges

Korea’s Regional Cooperation and ODA Policy in Asia: Performance and Challenges